Taking money off the table

The idea is to move your money to a galaxy far, far away from the tax collectors. In anticipation of hefty potential increases in federal, state and local taxes in 2013, many wealthy people are acting now to shield their money by cashing out investments while lower rates are still in effect.

Foremost is George Lucas. Although a Democrat who supported President Barack Obama's re-election, Mr. Lucas didn't need the mystic powers of a Jedi knight to figure out there's a good chance the top federal capital-gains tax could rise by one-third, to 20 percent from 15 percent, if the Bush-era tax cuts are allowed to expire Jan. 1. This month he sold his LucasFilms empire to Disney for $4.05 billion.

In doing so, Mr. Lucas potentially saved $203 million.

Then there's Steve Wynn, the billionaire gambling magnate. As the New York Times reported Nov. 18, “He and his fellow shareholders in Wynn Resorts … will collect a special dividend of $750 million … a payout timed to take advantage of current rates.” Mr. Wynn stood to save $20 million.

The range of higher taxes looming Jan. 1 as part of the “fiscal cliff” are not the only blow the economy could suffer, John Berlau told us; he's the senior fellow for finance and access to capital at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “There's the regulatory cliff, as we call it,” he said.

“The Obama administration put a lot of rules on hold during the election. There will be hundreds of new regulations” stemming from laws Congress wrote, but which require the interpretation and implementation of federal bureaucrats.

He said that new Environmental Protection Agency rules could severely damage the coal industry. And EPA rules over “fracking” techniques could damage the resurgent oil industry. The Dodd-Frank financial regulations also will be hurting community banks, he said. CEI is involved in a lawsuit to challenge Dodd-Frank on constitutional grounds.

In California, consumers and businesses will face additional costs from the Propositions 30 and 39 tax increases approved by voters, and new Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the state Legislature could lead to further tax and regulatory burdens.

When will governments learn that people, especially the wealthy, don't just sit still when hit with new taxes and regulations? People react, sometimes by cashing in investments, sometimes moving to places with more freedom.

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